Having left Mataranka (2nd of Oct) towards Kakadu we organised to meet up with Phil and Hong. Together we visited the Cutta Cutta caves and then on Phil’s recommendation travelled together to Cooinda where we stayed in first resort style accomodation. On the way we stopped at Katherine in an awesome cafe for a meal and coffee.

  • Cuta Cuta cave
  • Lunch in Katherine

Having arrived in Cooinda without hesitation we went for the powered site to ensure we dont run out of battery power for the need of aircon. Its HOT and humid with next to no wind at night which makes it very unpleasant if you are trying to get a reasonable night of sleep. We had a swim in a very nice and big pool and dinner in the resort restaurant. The night was super hot… Phil & Hong can attest to it given they stayed in a swag in which they were pretty much cooking. Seb’s handheld fan provided a little bit of air movement for them but they quickly ran out of batteries.

  • Pool in Cooinda Caravan Park
  • Patrick crashed after a busy day

In the morning we said our goodbyes to Phil and Hong who left for Darwin while we went exploring Kakadu. We visited Nanguluwurr where we admired old aboriginal rock art, caves and rock shelters as well as visiting the Gun-warddehwardde lookout. Beautiful views of surrounding areas of Kakadu and its scenery.

In the afternoon we went on a boat cruise on the famous Yellow Water Billabong. Yellow Water Billabong is located at the end of Jim Jim Creek, a tributary of the South Alligator River. We saw lots of wildlife including about 70 salt water crocodiles. We were told for every 1 we see there are another 10 we don’t. They do look mean and terrifying even while they just innocently lay there on the banks. The sunset was beautiful.

  • Spot the croc
  • Dinner time
  • Another busy day

The next day we went to Barramundi Gorge /Maguk falls. After a short hike we arrived at the water hole which had an amazing view of the cliffs and the waterfall. We enjoyed swimming across the whole area including just under waterfall. Seb and dad did few jumps of the cliffs near the waterfall as well. Upon return we again enjoyed more swimming in the pool as well as a restaurant meal. We discovered our first ant infestation with the buggers taking a liking to our sofa cushions by eating it. We cleaned up a bit and went to sleep.

Right now its the end of the dry season in the top end. Its hot and humid which makes most of the tourists disappear. Thanks to that we usually have most of the attractions to ourselves or just a small number of visitors. We continously hear stories of how crazy it gets during the peak period. At the same time Ania keeps on saying how awesome it must be in the wet season where everything turns green and lush and when water is everywhere. She wants to see the storms….well tonight we got one. We fell asleep to a few drops of rain and a thought that we should put the caravan awning back. … BANG!!!!! Was the next thing we heard. It was the sound of our awning snapping in half under weight of all the water. It was pouring down. Shin deep in the water with lightning smashing around us we stood there trying to work out what to do and swearing that we did not roll it back even though its what we though about before falling asleep. I wanted to take tension off the mounts so while Ania was googling the steps to take I decided to undo a couple of the small bolts on the side of the awning. These were the tension bolts which the you tube videos said NOT to touch as it can cause serious injury or death. It was too late… I now know why now, as I almost lost my thumb. Could not believe the noise it made and tension it had in the spring. All I will say is I will never touch those tension bolts ever again regardless of circumstances. Next morning we assessed the damage – awning and the support arms had to go. We started the process of insurance claim as well as looking for spare parts. Our camping neighbours also didn’t escape damage – another awning damaged and a flat tyre… a bit of Bermuda triangle going on. So the caravanning newbies learned to not leave the awning out in a storm…

  • Couch eaters
  • Damaged awning
  • Good bye awning